Harlequin American Romance November 2014 Box Set: The SEAL's Holiday Babies\The Texan's Christmas\Cowboy for Hire\The Cowboy's Christmas Gift (33 page)

Connie could see the potential of the place forming itself in her mind's eye. She just needed the right approach, the right thing to play up and the hotel-to-be would not only become a reality, it would also be a success and eventually get its patrons.

But it wouldn't get anything if it wasn't first built, and she had already decided that while she could have materials shipped in from anywhere in the country that could give her the best deal, to get the structure actually built, she was going to use local
talent,
so to speak.

She naturally assumed that living out here in what she viewed as
the sticks
made people handy out of necessity. Unlike in the larger cities, there wasn't a range of construction companies, all in competition with one another, all vying for the customer's money. Driving down here from Houston, she had already ascertained that the nearest town, Pine Ridge, was a minimum of fifty miles away. That alone limited the amount of choices available. If anything, out here it was the unhandy customer who wound up searching to find someone to do the work for them.

Just like faith, the right amount of money, she had learned, could move mountains.

She had no mountains to move. But she did have a building to erect, and in order not to be the outsider, the person who was viewed as invading their territory, she would need allies. In this particular case, she needed to have some of the men from Forever taking part in making the hotel a reality.

Granted that, once completed, the hotel would belong to the Carmichael Construction Corporation until such time as they sold it, but she had to make the locals feel that building the hotel would benefit the whole town as well as provide them with good-paying jobs during construction.

Connie knew the importance of friends; she just didn't exactly know how to go about making them.

But she had done her homework before ever getting behind the wheel of her vehicle and driving down here.

As she drove around now, Connie thought about the fact that on the other side of the town, located about ten miles due northwest, was a Native American reservation. She couldn't remember which of the tribes lived there, but perhaps they would welcome the work, along with Forever townspeople. Given the local state of affairs, who wouldn't want a job?

So, armed with her GPS, Connie was on her way there. She was driving slower than she was accustomed to for two reasons: one, she didn't have a natural sense of direction, and she didn't know the lay of the land and two, she wanted and
needed
to get to know this land she was temporarily camping out on.

The reservation was her destination, but something—instincts perhaps—made her closely scan the immediate area she was traversing.

Which was when she saw him.

At first she thought she was having a hallucination, a better-than-average morning fantasy that could easily trigger her latent libido if she let it. The trick to being a driven woman with not just goals, but also the taste of success tucked firmly under her belt, was the way she responded to things that needed life-long commitments. It required—demanded, really—tunnel vision. Eye on the prize and all that sort of thing.

Even so, Connie slowed her pristine, gleaming white BMW sports car down to an arthritic crawl as she stared at the lone figure in the distance.

No harm in just looking, she told herself.

Even at this distance, she could easily make out that the man was around her own age. She was keenly aware that he was bare-chested, that his muscles were rippling with every move he made and that, pound for pound, he had to be the best-looking specimen of manhood she had seen in a very long time.

Moving closer, she could see that perspiration covered his body, causing practically a sheen over his chest and arms.

At first she wasn't aware of it, but then she realized that her mouth had gone bone-dry. She went on watching.

He didn't seem to be aware of the fact that he was under scrutiny. The worker turned his back to her and went on doing whatever it was that he was doing. She couldn't quite make it out, but it had something to do with construction because there were tools on the ground, surrounding an empty tool chest.

As she continued observing him, Connie saw that the man appeared as if he not only knew his way around tools, but he also definitely seemed comfortable working with his hands.

It came to her then.

He was just the man she was looking for to be her foreman, to act as her go-between with whatever men she wound up hiring to do the actual work. Watching him, she couldn't help wondering how well someone who looked like that would take instructions from a woman.

Or was he the type who didn't care who issued the orders as long as there was a guaranteed paycheck at the end of the week?

Enough thinking, start doing,
she silently ordered herself.

The next moment, she turned her vehicle toward the cowboy and drove straight toward him.

Copyright © 2014 by Marie Rydzynski-Ferrarella

ISBN-13: 9781460342244

The Texan's Christmas

Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.

Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Tanya Michaels for her contribution to the Texas Rodeo Barons continuity.

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical,
now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

www.Harlequin.com

A Love Built To Last?

Finn Murphy has always been good at building things. So when the town's alluring new developer makes him an irresistible offer, he's all set to jump on board. And working side by side with Constance Carmichael sure has its perks. Too bad the big-city beauty will be heading back east after she makes her name in his hometown.

Hiring the handsome saloon owner and carpenter to turn Connie's dream of building Forever's first hotel into reality was a stroke of pure genius. Finn has magic in his hands, and she's far from immune to his rugged charms. But what happens when the time comes to say goodbye to this close-knit, warmly welcoming community…and Finn? Or has Connie finally found forever—with her Texas cowboy?

“Could you take me on a tour of the inside of the house?” she asked brightly.

“I could,” the cowboy answered, but made no effort to follow through on her request.

“But?” she asked.

She made him think of a stick of dynamite about to go off. He was about ten inches taller than she was, but a stick of dynamite didn't have to be very big to make a sizable impression.

Just who was this woman and what was she doing here? “I don't even know who you are.”

“I'm not dangerous, if that's what you're thinking,” she told him.

As if he believed that.

Finn's mouth curved ever so slightly, the left side more than the right. He wondered just how many men this woman had brought to their knees with that killer smile of hers.

“There's dangerous
,
and then there's
dangerous,
” he replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

She raised her chin just a little, doing her best to generate an air of innocence as she assured him, “I'm neither.”

“I don't know about that,” he said.

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Forever, Texas, the little town that is finally doing the two-step into the present century—kinda.

When I first began to write about Forever, it was only going to be a two-book series. Well, those of you who've read one or two of my books before know that I can't seem to stop myself when it comes to family sagas. It's like eating just one potato chip—I could never master that. Two books turned into three, then eight and now here we are, at book number eleven. (To be followed by book twelve… If we've told Brett's and Finn's stories, how can we neglect Liam's?) This one belongs to Finn, the middle Murphy brother, who aside from tending bar has a great aptitude for building things. It's just this ability that catches Constance Carmichael's eye when she comes from Houston to scope out possibilities in this tiny town. Of course, the fact that Finn was working in the hot sun with his shirt off didn't exactly make him invisible to her, either. Connie is in town to prove to her construction mogul father that she belongs in the family business and that she is a valuable asset to the company. Her challenge is to build Forever's first hotel on land that the senior Carmichael purchased. She wasn't counting on falling in love with the town, its people and one handsome cowboy in particular. Come see how she gets in far deeper than she ever intended.

As usual, I'd like to thank you for reading my book—it's something I never take for granted and am always sincerely grateful about. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you someone to love who loves you back.

All the best,

Marie

COWBOY FOR HIRE

Marie Ferrarella

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This
USA TODAY
bestselling and RITA® Award-winning author has written more than two hundred books for Harlequin, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website,
www.marieferrarella.com
.

Books by Marie Ferrarella

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

  145—POCKETFUL OF RAINBOWS
1329—THE SHERIFF'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
¤
1338—RAMONA AND THE RENEGADE
¤
1346—THE DOCTOR'S FOREVER FAMILY
¤
1369—MONTANA SHERIFF
1378—HOLIDAY IN A STETSON
    “The Sheriff Who Found Christmas”
1402—LASSOING THE DEPUTY
¤
1410—A BABY ON THE RANCH
¤
1426—A FOREVER CHRISTMAS
¤
1462—HIS FOREVER VALENTINE
¤
1475—A SMALL TOWN THANKSGIVING
¤
1478—THE COWBOY'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
¤
1513—HER FOREVER COWBOY
¤

HARLEQUIN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

1664—PRIVATE JUSTICE
1675—THE DOCTOR'S GUARDIAN^
1683—A CAVANAUGH CHRISTMAS*
1688—SPECIAL AGENT'S PERFECT COVER
1699—CAVANAUGH'S BODYGUARD*
1715—CAVANAUGH RULES*
1725—CAVANAUGH'S SURRENDER*
1732—COLTON SHOWDOWN
1736—A WIDOW'S GUILTY SECRET
1751—CAVANAUGH ON DUTY*
1760—THE COLTON RANSOM**
1767—MISSION: CAVANAUGH BABY*
1788—CAVANAUGH HERO*
1799—CAVANAUGH UNDERCOVER*
1811—CAVANAUGH STRONG*

HARLEQUIN SPECIAL EDITION

2117—A MATCH FOR THE DOCTOR†
2122—WHAT THE SINGLE DAD WANTS…†
2131—THE BABY WORE A BADGEΔ
2167—FORTUNE'S VALENTINE BRIDE‡
2192—ONCE UPON A MATCHMAKER†
2210—REAL VINTAGE MAVERICK§
2240—A PERFECTLY IMPERFECT MATCH†
2246—A SMALL FORTUNE***
2252—TEN YEARS LATER…†
2264—WISH UPON A MATCHMAKER†
2342—DATING FOR TWO†
2362—DIAMOND IN THE RUFF†

*Cavanaugh Justice
^The Doctors Pulaski
†Matchmaking Mamas
¤
Forever, Texas
ΔMontana Mavericks:
    The Texans Are Coming!
‡The Fortunes of Texas:
    Whirlwind Romance
§Montana Mavericks:
    Back in the Saddle
***The Fortunes of Texas:
    Southern Invasion
**The Coltons of Wyoming

Other titles by this author available in ebook format.